Poland: In the Parliament: 277 Votes for the Pro-Life Draft Law, Against – 134

For the draft, which aims to abolish the admissibility of eugenic abortion, voted 277 parliamentarians from the lower house of the Polish parliament (Sejm), while 134 voted against it at first reading. The Sejm has directed the draft law, which was submitted by the Legislative Initiative Committee “Halt Abortion” (Zatrzymaj aborcje) for further work. The Sejm did not agree to further work on a leftist draft law liberalizing the abortion rules.

“Halt Abortion” (Zatrzymaj aborcje) is a civic legislative initiative submitted by the Legislative Initiative Committee of the same name. It has one postulate – to cancel eugenic abortion from the Polish law, i.e. the possibility of killing a child due to the suspicion of illness or disability. The draft law was signed by 830,000 Poles. In the discussion it was emphasized that there can be no discrimination on the basis of an illness.

At the same meeting, the Sejm rejected at first reading the draft law on women’s rights and conscious parenthood submitted by left-wing organizations. A total of 202 parliamentarians voted against the draft submitted by the Legislative Initiative Committee “Let’s save women 2017”. 194 parliamentarians were against and 7 abstained from voting.

The draft assumed the introduction of abortion almost without any restrictions – the woman would have the right to abortion at her own request before the end of the 12th week of pregnancy. After this period, the killing of conceived children would be acceptable if the pregnancy represents a threat to a woman’s life or health; there is a likelihood of severe and irreversible impairment of the fetus or an incurable disease that threatens his or her life; or when pregnancy is the result of rape. About 200,000 Poles signed up for this draft, which is four times less than to the pro-life draft.

Here is a letter of the Presidium of the Polish Episcopate provided to Zenit:

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Presidium of the Polish Episcopate thanks the organizers, volunteers, signatories and parliamentarians voting for life

– On behalf of the Polish Bishops’ Conference, we thank the organizers of the civic legislative initiative “Halt abortion”, volunteers collecting signatures, 830,000 of citizens who have signed up to this draft law and all the parliamentarians who – by voting for life – supported this civic draft law. We trust that soon the legal guarantees to protect the lives of the weakest will be increased by stopping eugenic abortion – to quote from the Communication of the Presidium of the Polish Bishops’ Conference from January 11, 2018.

We publish the entire Communication:

Communication of the Presidium of the Polish Bishops’ Conference regarding the proceeding of a civic legislative initiative enhancing the protection of the right to life

On behalf of the Polish Bishops’ Conference, we thank the organizers of the civic legislative initiative “Halt abortion”, volunteers collecting signatures, 830,000 of citizens who have signed up to this draft law and all the parliamentarians who – by voting for life – supported this civic draft law. We trust that soon the legal guarantees to protect the lives of the weakest will be increased by stopping eugenic abortion.

A few days ago Pope Francis – speaking to diplomats from around the world – said that seventy years after the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted, fundamental rights are still being violated. “First among all of these – emphasized the Pope – is the right of every human person to life, liberty and personal security. It is not only war or violence that infringes these rights. In our day, there are more subtle means: I think primarily of innocent children discarded even before they are born, unwanted at times simply because they are ill or malformed, or as a result of the selfishness of adults” (Vatican, January 8, 2018).

In the context of the ongoing work on the aforementioned civic draft law, we are asking for prayer for the protection of the right to life.

About Deborah Castellano Lubov

Deborah Castellano Lubov is a Vatican & Rome Correspondent for ZENIT; author of 'The Other Francis' ('L'Altro Francesco') featuring interviews with those closest to the Pope and preface by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Parolin (currently published in four languages). She often covers the Pope's travels abroad, at times from the papal flight, and has done television and radio commentary, including for Vatican Radio and BBC. She is a contributor to National Catholic Register, UK Catholic Herald, Our Sunday Visitor, Inside the Vatican, and other Catholic news outlets. She has also collaborated with the Vatican in various projects, including an internship at the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, and is a collaborator with NBC Universal, NBC News, Euronews, EWTN and Salt & Light.
For 'The Other Francis': https://www.amazon.com/Other-Francis-Everything-They-about/dp/0852449348/